


let me tell you

by 2pork



Series: the promises we keep [1]
Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2pork/pseuds/2pork
Summary: "If this is your last chance to say something to someone, what would you say?"It's a little difficult to imagine.





	let me tell you

**Author's Note:**

> a prequel

“If this is your last chance to say something to someone, what would you say?” Jihoon’s acting coach asks one day, three weeks after the start of the semester.

They’re in a small studio at a secluded corner of the Arts building, where students rarely pass on account of the busted lighting that hasn’t been fixed in two months. It’s an eerie place, sure, but Jihoon is grateful for any spot on campus where no one can stumble in on his acting practice.

“Anyone? It’s not as if I’m grading any of this.”

A girl, petite and with inexpressive features that transform completely in front of the camera, raises her hand. “Are we saying this to their face?” she inquires.

Huh. That'd be difficult.

“I suppose not,” the coach answers, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It can be through any medium. But this gives me an idea.” He runs his gaze over everyone in the class, making sure they are all listening before he continues, “Let’s make this an activity. It must be hard to think of what to say on the spot, so I’ll give you a couple of days. Use whichever method you like, whether it’s a blog post, a letter, or telling them directly. I want you all to pretend that you won’t get another chance to speak to this person.”

Murmurs break out among Jihoon’s classmates as they ask about each other’s ideas. Jihoon keeps mum, shrugging sheepishly at his seatmate’s attempt to engage him. “I don't even know who I’ll say this to,” he says. “I might have to sleep on it for the night. It feels like it’s going to get personal so I don’t want to rush.”

She nods in sympathy. “Me too, I think. But I’ll probably say mine to my best friend.”

“Convenient.” He blinks doe eyes at her when she gives him a dirty look.

“ _Friendship,_ ” she corrects.

“My mistake.”

 

-

 

Jihoon does know who to say it to, though. He’s known from the moment their acting coach asked his first question. The problem is, he can’t exactly imagine the idea of a “last chance” to say something. There are tons of things he wants to say to Woojin, like belated responses to his _how are you’_ s, _have you eaten_ ’s, and _when will you be back_ ’s, like _are you free_ and _when do you want to meet_ , like _i miss you, i miss you, i miss you._

But these are words that he keeps for in between classes, or late nights when he can finally check his phone after shooting. It’s difficult to visualize having only one more chance to talk to Woojin for whatever reason, after living off of _next time_ ’s for so long.

His phone vibrates on the table and the screen displays a text notification from Woojin. Speak of the devil.

When Jihoon opens the message, it’s a simple _sorry._

Another bubble quickly follows, proclaiming: _i got too caught up in practice._

_do you still want to meet?_

_i miss you_

Jihoon’s lips quirk up. He replies, _i can’t rn, do u want to meet wed? im free at 4_

 _yeah, i’ll leave the car outside your apartment. let’s walk?_ Woojin texts back.

_sounds good_

Jihoon puts his phone back on the desk and laughs, but it’s with a twinge of bitterness in his chest. This is the fourth time they’ve had to reschedule a date this semester alone. With any luck, they’ll be able to meet at least half an hour on Wednesday, but the way things have been going, it seems equally likely that one of them will have to set another time again.

Days without Woojin leave him cold and desolate, but he lets the longing power his lines and expressions, lets loneliness flow out of his words on set, lets the anticipation of the sun, of having Woojin by his side surrounding him with warmth, shine through his eyes. He misses Woojin, but they both have their own paths to walk. Leading, he hopes, to the same destination.

Jihoon considers, for seconds, for minutes, the pen on his desk and the blank sheet of paper.

He thinks, to hell with it. “Woojin’s the only one who’ll see this letter anyway.” This is probably, absolutely, not what his acting coach had in mind, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

So Jihoon writes everything he wants to say, ends the letter with _I’ll see you sometime next week,_ and signs it with a winky face.

“That ought to make him happy.”

 

-

 

Wednesday morning sees Jihoon stumble out of the apartment building in a hurry to get to his first class. It’s an entire day of mishaps, from the Physics worksheets he almost submits to his Literature professor, to the bowl of ramyeon someone upends which splashes onto his pants. He’ll have to change before meeting Woojin later, but he doesn’t entirely hate the effort because it means he’ll be _meeting Woojin_.

The afternoon sees Jihoon fidgeting with anticipation, fingers tapping on his desk, leg bouncing out of sight. He steals glances at the clock as if doing so can make time run faster.

He’s _excited._ This is the first time he’ll be seeing Woojin since the start of the semester and it sets his insides fluttering when that snaggletooth grin flashes through his mind. Which, as the hour hand approaches 4, becomes more and more frequent.

The moment his class gets dismissed, Jihoon makes a break for the door.

 

-

 

“You’re late!” Jihoon accuses as soon as Woojin pulls up outside his apartment with all the windows open. Woojin himself is soaked with sweat, having come directly from dance practice after half a day of classes, and is climbing out with his gym bag. “And gross! Ugh, why didn’t you shower before coming here?”

“I wanted to see you,” Woojin says, over the top of the car. He’s a lot more straightforward than Jihoon, barreling onwards where Jihoon would choose a scenic route.

Jihoon scrunches his nose, desperately stomping down on the butterflies in his stomach. “Well, you’ve seen me now. And I’m smelling more of you than I ever wanted.”

Woojin rolls his eyes. “Please, you’re used to all this by now.” At _all this,_ he gestures over his entire body. When Jihoon only stares back unamused, he groans, “Okay, _okay_ , let me use your shower for five minutes.”

Jihoon drops his key into Woojin’s outstretched hand as he passes and leans back against the car to wait.

The idiot even left the windows open.

The windows...

Hm.

He looks inside the car (pristine as always, even with the way it was sputtering pathetically earlier) and gets increasingly conscious of the letter sticking out of his back pocket.

 

-

 

Woojin strolls out of the entrance in another one of his black shirts and a fresh pair of jeans. At least, Jihoon hopes it’s fresh. He squints at it.

“Hey, my eyes are up here,” Woojin jokes, and only just avoids the punch Jihoon aims at his shoulder. He throws out a hand to catch Jihoon’s wrist when he makes another attempt and uses the momentum to tug Jihoon into his arms. “C’mere. I want my cuddlebug.”

“Don’t call me an insect,” Jihoon whines, muffled by Woojin’s shirt. Still, he wraps both arms around Woojin’s waist and squeezes him hard.

“Ow.”

“That’s what you get.”

Woojin laughs, small puffs of breath on Jihoon’s neck, down his collarbones, as he curls around Jihoon more tightly. “I missed you so much,” he whispers. “You’re so busy. Are you too tired to go out?”

“I want to, idiot.” Jihoon pulls back to look him in the eye. “I waited a month for this! You too!”

“We did.” Woojin’s smile starts from his eyes, gentle and fond, shortly followed by the endearing curve of his lips, teeth the slightest bit bared to reveal his snaggletooth. “Where do you want to go?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Jihoon catches Woojin’s fingers and intertwines them with his own. He swings their joined hands and grins up at Woojin, happiness bubbling in his chest. “I just want to be with you long enough to get tired of your face.”

Woojin squeezes his hand and chuckles, “What if I don’t want you to get tired of my face?”

“Turn the other way then.”

“Harsh. You turn the other way, you’re blinding me with how beautiful you are.”

“Oh god, what the heck is this guy saying?” Jihoon says to the heavens.

They start walking down the street aimlessly, hand in hand, laughing and bickering like they didn’t just go a month without seeing each other.

Who knows when they’ll meet again after today? But this, holding Woojin’s hand, basking in their shared affections, this is enough to tide him over through all of their _next time_ ’s.

 

-

 

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think in a comment!


End file.
